Day 51

Cindy had a problem with the nurses early this morning.  It was the first time that one of the nurses was working on the floor and not in the ICU.  They didn't give Cindy her pain mess, had a huge problem with Cindy's Foley catheter, spilled fluids on her bed when changing her IV, and put a urine saturated towel on her bed.   They even laughed at her.  Cindy called them over and said that she's giving them an early Christmas gift by not reporting them but they are not allowed to be her nurses again.

Cindy's roommate is back from ICU.  Her daughter came by yesterday and put up a small Christmas tree and lights.

This morning, Cindy had scrambled eggs and Corn Flakes.  This afternoon she had her first solid meal of pasta and meat sauce.

Day 50

Cindy used a walker to help her keep her balance as she sat in the chair today for 1 1/2 hours.  She had lunch while she was sitting there.  You can check out the menu and lunch below.  Things didn't look so appetizing.  The bread (bottom right) wasn't great, she doesn't like rice (top left) or anything green (zucchini in this case), but she liked the bow ties and butter (bowl in the middle).  It tasted like it was made with chicken broth.

Day 49

Cindy got to eat solid food today.  Well, it was puréed which is more solid than anything she's had since November first.  She ate the fruit and ice cream but wouldn't touch anything else.  To tell you the truth, it didn't look very appetizing and Cindy is a very picky eater.  The lids on the main course in the picture below are closed to protect the innocent.

Day 48

Fox in Sox

Cindy's Occupational Therapist stopped by yesterday to give her a device to help her put her socks on and take them off.  Kinda reminds you of another famous Dr. Seuss character.

Day 47

Cindy got to sit in a chair today.  She sat at the edge of the bed for only a few minutes and then was able to stand up, turn and sit in the chair - with a little help from the nursing staff.  She sat in the chair doing her excersizes while the Physical Therapist sat across from her giving directions.  They chatted about their cats and exchanged some interesting cat stories.

Since Cindy has been able to verbally communicate, she has gotten to know a lot about the hospital staff's personal stories and they know a lot about Cindy.  That's our Cindy - always enjoys a good conversation and being the center of any social circle.

Day 46

It was a quiet, uneventful day for Cindy.  The best nurse in the hospital, Denise (NOT pictured below), spent a lot of social time with Cindy, chit-chatting and keeping her company.  Cindy did so well today, she got another Popsicle.

Day 45

Not much to report today.  Cindy is still doing well with getting weaned off the trachea.  Rita spent part of the day partying with her sibs, taking a break from the hospital.

The holiday gizmo in the video below belong's to Cindy's roommate, Cynthia, who is in the ICU with a lung infection and will hopefully be back on the floor tomorrow.

Day 44

Cindy had another skirmish with a Respiratory Therapist.  He was just a little too rough physically and inappropriate verbally.  He called her by her hospital serial number.  Will they never learn?  Don't mess with Cindy, especially if you don't want a tongue lashing when she has the speech valve in place.

However, in his defense, he did a great job auctioning out her lungs.  Better than anyone else has done.

Happy Weekend!

Day 43

Last night, the Respiratory Therapist accidentally suctioned too hard and might have irritated her lung.  She was coughing up some blood.  This is not uncommon but can be pretty scary to the patient.

Yesterday, Cindy received a card and blanket from Fran.  She was very pleased to get it.  It made her very happy and appreciated how thoughtful Fran is to think of her. 

There was no Physical Therapy yesterday or today.

Cindy spoke with her doctor and is considering having surgery to remove the hernia within the next few months.  Rita, Mary and Debbie are going to setup a meeting with the doctors to discuss how plausible and safe this is at this time.

Day 42

Cindy is breathing on her own today and the speaking valve was put into the trachea tube.  The first conversation went something like this:

     Nurse:  We need to test the speaking valve.  Say something.

     Cindy:  Something

     Nurse:  I knew you'd say that.

A little later the nurse had to do a procedure and the valve had to come out.  When the procedure was done, the valve was put back in. 

     Nurse:  We need to test the speaking valve again.

     Cindy:  Something else.

     Nurse:  I knew you'd say that.

For such a  fine performance, Cindy got a treat:

Day 41

Cindy was back to breathing on her own again.  She was also able to sit at the edge of the bed for a 1/2 hour.

In the picture below, Cindy is trying to unlock an account.  No luck, but she enjoyed surfing the web.

Day 40

Cindy is weaning off the machine again and ...

... getting ready for Christmas!

Day 39

Cindy is feeling much better today.  She was breathing using the machine just to give her a break from the issues she had yesterday.  Interestingly, the following is an observation she noted of her experience during her struggle:

Day 38

Cindy had a slight setback last night and today.  She felt that she had a hard time breathing even though there were no signs of any medical problems.  We're hoping that tomorrow will be a better day and she continues on the road to recovery.

Day 37

Cindy had another swallow test and PASSED.  That means she is allowed to have some ice for the next couple of days and then they will start her on solid food.  I remember  when she started on solid food last time.  It got all over her face, hands, hair and the floor.  That was when she grabbed the spoon from my mother and couldn't find her mouth.  Hopefully, she'll do better this time.

This is a picture so Cindy's guests.  They couldn't wait to get on the phone and pass on the good news.

Ann (friend of the family) Lucy and Tony (Rita's parents)

Day 36

Cindy had a visit from the discharge Case Manager yesterday.  She told us that patients are usually discharged after 28 days and either go to a sub-acute care facility, skilled nursing facility or home - depending on your health status.  The Case Manager asked many questions about Cindy's condition before she was admitted to the hospital, insurance questions and some other personal questions.  But my favorite question and response was the following:

Case Manager:  What religion are you?

Cindy (after a lot of thought):  Whichever one has presents.

The Case Manager also wanted to make sure she was able to contact Cindy's main support team - Rita, Mary and Debbie.  One of us is usually with Cindy at the hospital.  Here is a picture of Rita setting up shop at Cindy's bedside:

Day 35

Guess Who's Speaking!!!

Cindy has a speaking valve - called a Passy-Muir valve "installed" and can now "speak". 

Passy-Muir Valve - courtesy of Amazon

This is Cindy's trachea with the Passy-Muir Valve.

Day 34

It was a busy day for Cindy.  First a swallow test.  She got to swallow some yummy blue ice to see if it "went down the wrong pipe" or landed in the right place.  Unfortunately, some if it "went down the wrong pipe."  This means she's still not ready for solid food - or even ice chips.  But the color if her tongue, blue, looked like she had enjoyed some Raspberry Italian Ices.

Cindy also worked with the Physical Therapist to try to sit on a chair.  She made it to the edge of the bed and was able to sit there for 15 minutes.  The Physical Therapist declared it a success.

Here is Cindy finishing paying bills.  It's about time!

Day 33

Sometimes you just have to believe in miracles.  Thank you G-d for Cindy's life.

Day 32

Reminder - Cindy is at Kindred Hospital in San Leandro and not at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek.  Kindred is a Long Term Care Facility.  The average stay is usually a month or more.

Cindy was connected to the oxygen again today for 6 hours.  The assist level will go down tomorrow morning (good news) and she will also be on the oxygen connection later in the day for at least 6 - 8 hours.